PRAYER FOR THE TESTING OF MY OWN HEART
And a sword will pierce even your own soul – to the end that thoughts from many will be revealed. Luke 2:35
Spoken by Simeon to Mary
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Lord, how You favored Simeon. He was one of few who were told supernaturally that You would be born in their lifetime. He saw You come to the temple when You were twelve and he recognized You instantly. He prophesied boldly to Your mother about your future. He said that Your life, and death, would pierce her own soul and that Your life would also test the thoughts of people. What a strange prophesy but Lord, I’ve lived long enough to know what Simeon meant.
Your mother did agonize and a sword did pierce her heart when You, her innocent Son, were nailed to a cross. How did she bear it? It was only because Your Father told her that You were the Savior.
But she also stumbled over You as Your presence tested and revealed her thoughts. Your holiness, even as a toddler, exposed her sinful heart. This was predicted. Your Word said, “And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel.” Is. 8:14 In a weak moment, she presumed upon Your miracle working power at the wedding feast, and later, she called You crazy along with the rest of Your family in Your hometown. To call You her Son was one thing. To repent and have to call You her Savior was quite another.
Before I can stand with You today, I must stumble over You. Your holiness is too bright for my eyes. My sin is too dark for Yours. You ways are too hard. Sinning is too easy. Your humility is too much to absorb. My pride is often too great to admit. When the sword of Your Word pierces my heart, my thoughts are an open book. I am in relationship with You, just like Mary. My heart is known to You, just as Mary’s heart was. I stumble, just as Mary did. Thank you for praying for me, Jesus, so that my faith does not fail. Like Peter, and like Mary, I am often sifted like wheat and I need You. Amen
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Wednesday, 21 August 2024.
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